Customer Value
Customer value is the value teams create for customers by addressing their opportunities—their unmet needs, pain points, and desires.
How do teams create customer value in product discovery?
Opportunities represent how teams can create customer value. Teams discover these opportunities through customer interviews and then discover solutions that address them through assumption testing.
The fundamental formula for effective product work is to create customer value (by delivering on opportunities) in a way that creates business value (by driving outcomes). Creating customer value alone isn't enough—teams must also drive business results.
Not all opportunities create equal customer value. Teams need to understand the relative contribution of solving different problems to determine which will move the needle. The right prioritization decision considers which opportunity will create the most incremental value for customers while also driving the desired business outcome.
Over time, as teams continuously deliver solutions, they address more of the opportunity space and have more of an impact on their outcome. Customer value accumulates through this continuous delivery process.
Creating customer value requires two key research activities week over week: interviewing to discover opportunities (generative research) and assumption testing to discover the best solutions (evaluative research). Both are essential.
Learn more:
- Product Discovery Basics: Everything You Need to Know
- Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes
Related terms:
- Assessing Opportunities
- Business Value
- Customer Needs
- Product Outcomes
Last Updated: October 25, 2025